NEW COMMANDER: Guard Holds Ceremony

A lot of important changes this year have molded the direction of the Iowa National Guard.

On Friday, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, part of 34th Infantry Division held a ceremony to honor their past leader and welcome in their new one.

Col. Michael Amudson is the outgoing Commander; Col. Damian Donahoe is the new Commander.

“I`m excited, I`m humbled by the opportunity of leading over 3,300 of Iowa’s best is a privilege but we have great soldiers so it really makes the job easy. You provide good direction for them and they take over from there,” says Col. Donahoe.

The unit is spread out throughout the state and is prepared to respond to both Army and state operations.

“Our training is focused on infantry tactics but beyond that we also have sustainment elements that support it also being able to respond to the domestic emergencies as the governor requires us to,” says Col. Donahoe.

The ceremony included the official change of command and remarks by both Colonels.

But that’s not the only change coming to National Guard. The 132nd Fighter Wing is being decommissioned because of budget cuts.

The unit will be replaced with unmanned drones and the new mission is already underway with 600 people undergoing training for the new roles.

Those include learning the skills needed to maintain and operate the unmanned drones.